New York Among Most Dangerous States For Swimming

Data reveals some of the most deadliest beaches in the U.S. are in New York State.

New research has revealed the states with the most dangerous beaches for swimmers, with Oregon taking the top spot. Florida personal injury lawyers at Anidjar & Levine analyzed 2021–2023 data from the United States Lifesaving Association, looking at the total attendance for each location, and compared that to the total number of rescues that were required to discover the rate of rescues per 100,000 beachgoers in attendance.

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In first place is Oregon, which had the third-lowest number of beachgoers in the country. 296 out of 361,967 attendees needed to be rescued: a rate of 81.8 rescues per 100,000 beachgoers. This is nearly double the rate of Maryland, the state in third place

New York Ranked Second For Most Dangeorous Beaches in U.S.

Second is New York. In the Empire State, there were 73.7 rescues made for every100,000 attendees. 4,551,283 people went to the beach, and 3,355 of them had to be rescued.

Maryland takes third place. Despite an even higher attendance than New York—17,987,536 beachgoers in all—the state does not have a much higher number of rescues, with only 7,738 of them having to be rescued. That amounts to a rate of 43.0 rescues per 100,000 beachgoers.

Virginia comes fourth in the rankings. 4,825,319 people went to the beach in the state between 2021 and 2023, and 2,043 of them needed the help of a lifeguard. That equates to 42.3 rescues per 100,000 people in attendance.

Fifth is California, where a great many rescues had to be made: 143,955 between 2021 and 2023. 425,284,530 people went to the beach in the state—easily the highest attendance in the country, and nearly double the attendance of Florida, which sits in second place. This results in a rate of 33.8 rescues per 100,000 beachgoers.

Rhode Island places sixth on the list. The state’s 740,000 beachgoers required rescuing 245 times between them, which equates to a rate of 33.1 rescues per 100,000 attendees.

New Jersey is in seventh place. With 8,478 rescues between 27,760,620 beachgoers, the state has a rescue rate of 30.5 rescues per 100,000 attendees.

At number eight is North Carolina, where 24.6 beachgoers are rescued per 100,000 attendees. With 17,138,482 people going to the state’s beaches, 4,217 people were saved between 2021 and 2023.

In ninth place is Delaware, where 2,036 out of 12,924,048 beachgoers needed to be rescued, giving the state a rate of 15.8 rescues per 100,000 beachgoers.

In tenth place is Massachusetts. 280 rescues needed to be made in the Bay State between 2021 and 2023, and with 1,803,007 beachgoers in total, the state ends up with a rate of 15.5 rescues per 100,000 attendees.

Connecticut Ranked Safest to Go Swimming

Connecticut is the safest state in the country to go swimming. Although its total of just 23 rescues isn’t the lowest in the country, as Idaho beats it to first place with a mere seven rescues, it’s an astounding feat for a state where 5,208,085 people went to the beach between 2021 and 2023 and gives the state the lowest rescue rate in the country: 0.4 rescues per 100,000 beachgoers.

Commenting on the findings, a spkesperson for Anijdjar & Levine said: “Our country’s lifeguards do an incredible job every day. Now, equipped with this knowledge, those attending the high-risk beaches need to be particularly cautious around swimming.

“Proper precautions can include checking weather conditions, obeying warning signs, and being aware of rip currents and other potential hazards. And of course, never swim alone when it’s dark or when you’re intoxicated—always take someone with you.”

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Check Out a Full List Of States and Rankings Below.